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Installing a Jaguar mute on a P-Bass

Daveypoo

Daveypoo

Jul 24, 2010
813
561
Verona, IT
www.youtube.com
#1
There was another thread here about the Fender Sean Hurley Signature P and how it has a flip on/flip off mute from a Jaguar guitar installed on it.

I've been wanting to put a mute on my P/J for a while and I love the idea of being able to flip it on and off. I've looked into the BassMute (www.bassmute.com) but they don't seem to ever have any in stock (and they are pretty expensive) so I'm looking for alternates. I would be super down with having a Fender branded mute on my P.

Anyway - I found that I can order the parts online but I wanted to see if anyone has any experience installing one of these on a P bass. It's designed for a Jag bridge - how well does it fit? What are the parts I need? When it flips up/on, what keeps the mute engaged? How much space does there need to be between the bridge and the bridge pickup? Does anyone have close-up shots of this installed?
 
#9
What do you want to know? The jag mute is a very simple design with four parts. There is the mute plate, the spring, the plunger, and the mute pad. (I used weatherstripping for the pad.)

A hole is drilled under the center of the mute plate. In the hole is a plunger that rests on a spring. The bottom of the mute has a bolt that extends into the hole, depressing the plunger. A screw on either side of the hole hold the mute in place,and they double as a means to adjust the mute. Muted and unmuted is essentially just the result of rocking the mute plate so that the bolt slides from one side of the hole to the other. Tension from the spring keeps the mute in place.

The downside is that pressure from the mute pulls notes slightly sharp. However, palm muting does the same thing. It works surprisingly well.
 
#10
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#12
THANKS, WV. Pics was exactly the kind of details I was hoping for. You rock! (you know, eventually) :p


As far as intonation, I would presume one would have some control over that with the foam you used: the softer the foam, the less intonation impact. Of course, probably the softer the foam, the less muting as well. This is just educated (I hope) guessing. I've never used a foam mute myself, but I'm very interested in trying it out.
 
#13
depalm said:
Intonation issues for sure.
Click to expand...

Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?

Again, the effects on tuning and intonation are really no different than when palm muting. It is not my ears telling me this; I tested this with an accurate tuner. Yes, it pulls you ever so slightly out of tune; it is not significant. If you have golden ears though, you might not like it.

You do have to adjust it carefully. I found that the thickness of the pad is not the most significant issue. I had to play around with the depth of the pivot hole as well as the height of the mounting screws. I went through a few iterations of this, and actually ended up with the hole ever so slightly to deep. There is part of a lid from a Bic pen in the bottom shallowing up the depth just a bit. I also tried a couple different kinds of mounting screws. Flat machine screws didn't allow enough pivot; I ended up with beveled/countersunk screws instead.
 
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#16
If the mute is adjusted so it takes the sustain out, but doesn't kill the "bloom" of the note, in other words, just barely does its job without pressing too hard on the strings, then there are no intonation issues. But it is a fine balance: too little, and the mute is not effective; too much, and then the pressure on the strings does cause intonation issues. That's why the throw of the mute is adjustible.
 
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